Sonic

Bad news for the few people out there that are fans of the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games crossovers. It’s been announced that the most recent game in the series, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,will be pulled from the Japanese 3DS/Wii U eShop on 27 December 2017 at 10:00 JST. This will also include the demo version of the game. It’s unknown if other regions will also pull the game from the respective 3DS/Wii U eShops.

No reason has been specified as to why the game is being pulled. The most likely theory is that the license to use the Mario or Olympic branding has been expired, and as a result the game will be pulled to not violate laws. This may also foreshadow the series being quietly cancelled, if the license to use the Mario or Olympics is not being renewed. Considering that the next Winter Olympics is coming in 2018 with no Mario & Sonic title announced yet, it’s a real possibility.

As previously reported, a new Sonic mobile game called Sonic Runners Adventure was accidentally leaked on Gameloft’s Customer Support page, revealing a lot of information about how the game played including the different styles to play the game and how characters worked. Though with only descriptions to go by, we haven’t seen what the game looks or plays like.

But now thanks to more leaks, we finally know what Sonic Runners Adventure looks like in action. This includes a video showcasing the story mode of the game, showing off the first few stages reminiscent of Green Hill Zone including both the Finite and new Looped styles, along with glimpses of the menus where you can customize yourself with items, buddies, and playable characters. There is also a small selection of screenshots that originally came from a Russian website, based on the below video. But more strangely, there appears to be a Java version of Sonic Runners Adventure that was also leaked. Weird to see a Java game in this day and age, but it might benefit someone out there.

To see Sonic Runners Adventure gameplay in action, click the link below.

No this isn’t the infamous Sonic Xtreme originally developed for the SEGA Saturn but cancelled due to development hell. Sonic Extreme was a cancelled skateboarding game originally pitched by a development studio called Vision Scope Interactive, which as the name suggested involved Sonic characters preforming skateboarding tricks and races similar to the famous Tony Hawk Pro Skater series involving hover boards. A prototype of the game was originally found in a Xbox devkit and leaked on the internet in 2011.

Liam Robertson, a known contributor to the website Unseen64 that specializes in beta and cancelled video games, decided to investigate further into how the game was originally pitched by contacting Vision Scope Interactive employees. The results includes how the opportunity came to be due to helping with developing the CG cutscenes in Sonic Heroes, how the prototype was quickly assembled and pitched, and it’s connection to the similar Sonic Riders released years later.

What Sonic Extreme might have been if it became a full title is unknown, but it’s nice to know more information about another curious case in Sonic’s history.

The latest Nintendo Dream Magazine from Japan has revealed new information about the upcoming Project Sonic 2017 game for the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. The blurb states that Dr. Eggman will be the main villain, that there will be no multiplayer features, and that the genre for the game is “adventure”. The magazine also features Sonic Mania, but the information included was revealed months ago.

Those of you waiting for new Sonic Mania or Sonic Project 2017 news won’t have to wait long. Next month at SXSW 2017, there will be a Gotta Go Fast panel featuring Aaron Webber, Mike Pollock, Roger Craig Smith, and Takashi Iizuka. This follows last year’s fairly divisive panel with the same set of speakers.

At this year’s panel, they’ve promised some new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content will be revealed for the first time, in addition to answering questions about both games.

This year’s panel will happen at 5-6PM CT on March 16th, 2017. That’s just over a month from now, folks! With new game content promised, I’m sure the reception to this one will be a lot better this time.

Are you looking forward to seeing what the panel reveals? Do you plan on attending it like the hardcore Sonic fan you are? Let us know in a comment below!

The full panel description is below:

Dive into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog in this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at both Sonic Mania and the upcoming Sonic 2017! With presenters from SEGA and Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, this panel will answer questions about both games, showcase a new reveal for each title, and will discuss Sonic’s resurgence in the world of gaming since the reveal of both games. Of course, with Sonic involved, who knows what other surprises might be in store?

MAMEWorld has recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the well known arcade emulator MAME with a dump of several arcade games. One of the games is the rare SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter from an anonymous donator. The original game was a vertical shooter that as the name suggests stars Sonic the Hedgehog as he has to shoot down Dr. Robotnik and his robots in space. The arcade cabinet was originally a Japanese exclusive, with the monitor having an interesting “swaying” effect as you play the game. SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter is comparable to Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car in terms of presentation.

This dumping means that as of this point, all known Sonic arcade games have been dumped in some way or another. However, the ROM of the game is not available publicly as of this writing, meaning currently it’s not possible to play the game yourself using MAME. Still, the fact a game like SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter and the many other games recently donated being dumped means they won’t be lost to the trials of time.

Up to this point, we knew that the anticipated Sonic Mania was coming to the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and more recently Nintendo Switch as a digital download. However, recent images suggest that Sonic Mania may also get a physical release, at least for the Nintendo Switch version. @SuperAj3 on Twitter recently posted an image of mockup cases for Sonic Mania, originally from EBGames Australia. According to him, he asked the people behind the counter about the game, and it was in their database. Later, another Twitter post from the official EBGames Australia account claims that they are “expecting” a physical release for Sonic Mania at this stage.

Together, this hints at Sonic Mania getting a physical release, at least for the Nintendo Switch version in Australia. However as of this writing, nothing from SEGA has been officially confirmed. It’s also unknown if a physical release will be available in other regions or if there will be physical releases for the other versions such as for the PS4 and Xbox One.

[Update] Sonic the Hedgehog social media manager, Aaron Webber, has taken to Twitter to set the record straight. According to him, there isn’t ‘currently’ news on the physical release.

IGN has posted a nearly 4 minute gameplay video of Sonic and Tails together and apart in… Studiopolis Zone Act 1 from Sonic Mania. In case you get confused like some YouTube commenters, about a minute and a half in, there’s a dissolve edit where Sonic gameplay transitions into the player controlling Tails. It’s not a new switching feature or anything.

It’s great seeing more footage of the game in action, but it would be quite nice to see some different levels!

SEGA has recently announced in a stream that they will help the Extra Life charity with a 24 hour marathon Sonic games. Starting at 8am PDT November 5th, Aaron and Sergio will be playing through different Sonic games on the official Sonic twitch account, with the ultimate goal to reach $10,000 (originally $5,000) in charity, appropriately calling themselves Team Sonic. They claim the games being streamed will be good Sonic games, “not-as-good” Sonic games, and “everything in between”, though nothing specific has been announced.There may also be some shenanigans to help encourage people to donate.

Extra Life is a charity that has been running since 2008, using 24 hour gaming marathons in order to help the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since it’s inception, it has managed to collect over 22 million dollars in donations. If you want to donate to the cause, you can do it immediately by joining Team Sonic. Hopefully they reach those goals!

We have information that a new trailer is in the works and that licensed music will be used from Madeon, whether it’s for the new Sonic game constantly teased or something related to Sonic Boom Fire & Ice. Either way, the official Twitter for popular French musician Madeon and Sonic the Hedgehog accounts have talked about using Madeon’s music in a Sonic trailer. The exact context though is ambiguous, such as which song from Madeon or for what game.

SEGA 3D Classics Collection is the latest in the long line of compilations that SEGA loves to produce. For years the company has to rereleased various titles in a neat packages for convenience, often times Genesis titles from the golden days. Examples include both Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems Collection,SEGA Genesis Collection, and SEGA Smash Pack.However, few of these compilations were released on handheld systems, and often times arcade games would get the short end of the stick. So SEGA 3D Classics Collection is a bit special in this case since it has several games that you don’t normally see in these compilations like Power Drift, Puyo Puyo Tsu, and Maze Walker.

Game Symphony Japan, a Japanese concert that focuses on creating orchestrated music from varies video game titles, will host a special SEGA themed event as part of it’s 17th line of concerts, which will focus on the anniversaries of Sonic the Hedghehog, Puyo Puyo, and NiGHTS into Dreams…. This is the second time a special SEGA event will be hosted on Game Symphony Japan, with the 14th line also including a SEGA event last year that focused on varies classic SEGA titles.

The concert will open on July 17th 2016 at 17:30pm (5:30pm) Japan Standard Time at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Theater Concert Hall, with the price of submission ¥8,500 ($76), ¥7,500 ($67), or ¥6,500 ($58) depending on seating. Tickets can be purchased from PIA Japan, ePlus, or I-tike.

On the last hour of the last day of San Diego Comic Con, our own Alex Peal managed to sneak in a quick interview with the new editor of the Archie action line of comics (Sonic, Mega Man) Vincent Lovallo. He discusses his role as an editor, Worlds Unite and what’s coming up in the future of the Sonic comic books.

SEGA has revealed that Mario and Sonic will be heading to arcades together for the first time, as part of their latest Olympics team-up. The games will be getting location tests starting today and running through July 20 at the Club SEGA in Akihabara and the SEGA World in Kasai.

It is currently unknown whether the arcade version will be a port of content from the Wii U version or be a completely unique game. At the very least, the game will have unique controls, going by the design of the cabinets.

Mario and Sonic 2016 will be launching for the Wii U and 3DS next year. It is currently unknown when the final version of the arcade game will hit Japanese arcades, and whether or not these machines will appear in Western arcades.

Well this came out of nowhere! A Japan-only Nintendo Direct has revealed that a new Mario & Sonic game based on next year’s Rio Summer Olympics will be releasing on the Wii U and 3DS…eventually. No date was given in the trailer, but a late 2015 date seems likely if the past games are any indication.

The trailer looks like pretty standard Mario & Sonic fair, though it does seem to reveal several newly playable characters. These characters include Mario’s Nabbit, Donkey Kong’s Diddy Kong, as well as Rouge, Jet and Zazz. It looks like Sonic’s Egg Pawns and Mario’s Boom Booms will also be playable in some form, but given that they only appear as filler characters in the rugby mini game, they may not be playable in other parts of the game. These are the first new additions to the series since 2010’s Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics.